NEWARK, N.J.—There may be more NHL trade rumours than there are draft picks.

It was a wild Saturday on the eve of the draft, if speculation is what you’re after: Now both Vancouver goalies on the trade market, Tyler Seguin is available from the Boston Bruins, David Perron from the St. Louis Blues, Cal Clutterbuck from the Minnesota Wild.

Some teams are pressed up against the salary cap. Some are trying to move up the draft ladder.

“A lot has to do with the buyouts and the cap number going down,” said Florida GM Dale Tallon. “The next five or six days, there’ll be an explosion.”

On the hard-news front:

The Maple Leafs have tendered contracts to all of their restricted free agents: Nazem Kadri, Joe Colborne, Frazer McLaren, Carl Gunnarsson, Cody Franson, Mark Fraser and Jonathan Bernier. Fraser appears ready to turn down the two-way deal he was offered. The deadline for acceptance is July 15. Teams retain a player’s rights, but they become eligible to accept offer sheets.

“This was his choice,” Horton’s agent, Paul Krepelka, told CSNNE.com. “This wasn’t a monetary decision. This was the choice that Nathan thought was best for him.”

The Bruins are taking offers on Seguin, who has a six-year deal that will start paying him $5.75 million per season beginning next year. They want to open up some salary cap room to give Patrice Bergeron a mega-deal.

The goaltending mix, which already includes Ilya Bryzgalov, bought out in Philly, got more crowded with word the Sabres are shopping Ryan Miller. Buffalo sniper Thomas Vanek is also said to be available from the rebuilding team.

Lecavalier, meanwhile, also met with the Dallas Stars, who have money to spend.

“Vincent Lecavalier would be a good fit with most teams in the league at the right dollars,” said Ottawa GM Bryan Murray.

The circus that is Vancouver’s goaltending situation took a surprising turn when GM Mike Gillis revealed he’s been asked about Cory Schneider, with rumours suggesting Edmonton is after him. The Canucks, of course, have been trying to trade Roberto Luongo for months. Gillis said he may have to buy out Luongo, but nothing was certain.

“You have to listen,” Gillis said Saturday. “If you’re in any business, you have to listen to what the proposals may be and act accordingly. That’s what we’re doing.”

As for the draft, there was all kinds of speculation that Colorado would trade the No. 1 overall pick. Patrick Roy, the Avs’ new coach and a member of the club’s complicated front office, was not speaking on Saturday.

Florida’s Tallon, who holds the second pick, said he wasn’t holding his breath about Colorado’s decision.

“I know we have four guys or five or six guys we really like,” said Tallon. “We’re going to take the best player we think will help our franchise. We’re very fortunate to have the second pick in such a deep draft. Whatever Colorado does, I can’t control.”

Nashville, at No. 4, had seemed likely to trade its pick, but GM David Poile sounded like he was staying put.

“I’m not going to be comfortable till we know what we get at four,” Poile said.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.